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Guide · 4 min read

Filling up abroad: when is the trip across the border worth it?

Why fuel is often cheaper in neighbouring countries, how much you may bring back in a jerry can and when the detour really pays off.

Why fuel is often cheaper across the border

Most of the difference is taxes. Germany levies a comparatively high energy tax (Energiesteuer) plus a CO₂ price; many neighbouring countries charge less. According to the ADAC, Germany’s largest motoring organisation, filling up is often cheaper in Poland, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Austria, among others, than in Germany. How big the gap currently is varies with tax rates, exchange rates and the oil price – the European Commission publishes current average prices for all EU countries every week in the Weekly Oil Bulletin.

What makes up the German taxes and why diesel and petrol differ in this respect is explained in the guide Diesel and petrol.

How much you may bring back

Fuel in the built-in tank may be taken across the border within the EU without duties. In addition, customs accepts up to 20 litres in reserve cans if the fuel was bought and taxed in the normal way at a petrol station in the other EU country and suits your engine. From countries outside the EU, such as Switzerland, it is 10 litres in a can.

If you bring back more, German energy tax becomes due – and you have to declare it to customs yourself. So it never becomes a good deal. Also observe the transport rules: cans must be approved for fuel and stowed safely.

When the detour is worth it

Do the sums honestly: the journey there and back costs fuel and time. If you fill up 40 litres at 30 cents per litre less, you save €12 – with a 50-kilometre detour a large part of that is already burnt on the way. The detour calculator shows how far a detour pays off.

For motorways you need a vignette (motorway toll sticker) in Austria, the Czech Republic and Switzerland – even if you only pop across briefly to fill up. It can quickly eat up the price advantage; if in doubt, take country roads. And compare the petrol stations on the German side first as well – sometimes the gap is smaller than you think.

By the way: the rule that petrol stations may only raise their prices once a day, at 12 noon, has existed in Austria for years – in Germany it has applied since 1 April 2026. More in The best time to fill up.

Prices in German border towns

Before you cross the border, it is worth a look at the petrol stations on this side – with all current prices for Super E5, E10 and diesel:

Spritfuchs24.de does not show prices abroad: the Market Transparency Unit for Fuels (Markttransparenzstelle für Kraftstoffe) only records petrol stations in Germany.

Sources

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